-+*WaterfallCalc.com, an affordable, user-friendly loss mitigation waterfall calculator designed to meet the needs of all FHA mortgage servicers, has released Version 2.0 of its popular software, according to an announcement from the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based company.

-+*Non-foreclosure solutions continued to outpace completed foreclosures by a rate of approximately five to one in April while serious delinquencies continued their steady decline, according to data released ...

-+*EXPOs differ from Freddie Mac's Standard Pool Offerings in that the loans include smaller pool sizes and a longer marketing period. Freddie Mac is targeting smaller investors with its EXPO auctions, which are intended to give these investors extra time to secure funding to participate in the NPL sales. Freddie Mac began marketing the pool of loans on April 21 and encouraged private investors, minority- and women-owned businesses, non-profits, and neighborhood advocacy funds to bid in the auction, subject to meeting bidder qualification requirements.

-+*One of the steps Freddie Mac lists for borrowers to take in order to avoid being the victim of a scam is, first and foremost, calling your servicer. The borrower's servicer is the only one who can modify the mortgage or finalize a loss mitigation plan – anyone other than the servicer who professes the ability to do so is a scammer, especially if they require the payment of an upfront fee.

-+*Counsel's Corner is an ongoing series in which DS News talks with default servicing attorneys around the country about the most pressing issues facing the default servicing industry. This installment features Luke Sosnicki from Dykema's Los Angeles office, discussing RESPA’s new loss mitigation rules implemented by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in January 2014 and resulting litigation around those rules.

-+*Aside from the event scheduled for Chicago on May 27, HOPE NOW has announced borrower outreach events for St. Louis (June 13) and Cleveland (July 11) as part of an effort to focus on the Midwest. HOPE NOW said it plans to host events later in the year in Ft. Lauderdale, Hartford, Memphis, and Los Angeles.

-+*Today, Freddie Mac receives about one tenth of the amount of calls it was receiving during the immediate aftermath of the housing crash (about 40,000 per month, or 1,300 per day), but many homeowners facing financial setbacks are still calling Freddie Mac hoping the GSE will have a solution for them, whether it allows them to keep their home or is of the non-home retention variety.

-+*Nevada was one of the states affected most by the crisis. In response to the housing crash, back in 2009 the Nevada legislature created a Foreclosure Mediation Program. The members of a subcommittee of the Nevada Legislature recently voted to recommend the elimination of the program, however, after determining that the housing market has sufficiently recovered.

-+*Areas of the country that have been slow to recover from the recession will be the focus of HOPE NOW's outreach efforts to offer loss mitigation options to struggling homeowners in 2015, according to an announcement from HOPE NOW.